


Mamae

by zombiefishgirl



Series: Of Ardour and Adoration [29]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Mild emotional hurt/comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-13
Updated: 2015-08-13
Packaged: 2018-04-14 12:19:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4564431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zombiefishgirl/pseuds/zombiefishgirl





	Mamae

Sarita was just drifiting off to sleep with the feel of Cullen large and warm hand rubbing gently along her shoulder. The stars were shining brightly overhead reminding her of her childhood. She felt Cullen shift a little and his voice, a gentle rumble in the still night. "I was wondering something...you do not have to tell me if you do not want to or it is a difficult subject but you mentioned once that your mother's face was burned in a fire? I was just wondering how that happened?"  
She shifted against him, letting out a small huff of breath as she considered her response.  
"I am sorry if that is an uncomfortable topic..."  
"No, no it is alright. I was just thinking how best to explain it. It happened when I was very small, only two or three so most of what I know happened was told to me later. Well as you know the clans move around fairly regularly sticking to the forests and outskirts of human cities. A lot of people tend to think of us as bandits or killers or else we have to worry about templars trying to take out mages. One Summer we stayed a little longer near a village than we had planned to when one of our elders was ill and needed rest. We moved on as soon as he was recovered but not fast enough for some of the villagers I suppose. They had managed to learn that we kept our most precious things in one of the central aravals so when we were starting our journey they set fire to it. What they did not realise was that what we meant as precious was the children of the clan. No one was killed thankfully but it all happened so fast, there was so much panic and confusion as the children fled the flames. I was younger and smaller and got lost in the fray and was trapped..." she shuddered involuntarily and Cullen held her closer. All too able to picture her as a small child trapped and frightened by the flames. "The mages were busy trying to stop the flames spreading and my mother was the first to notice that I had not escaped. She pushed her way through the burning wreckage, barely able to hear my cries in the middle of it all. When she found me she gathered me in her arms, we had almost gotten out into the open when a sudden burst of flame flared up near me and she bent forward to shield me and the flame burnt her face. My father was able to prevent most of the damage when he heard her scream. He told me later that she told him that she would step into those flames all over again to save me. I don't know if he made that up to make me feel better about it or if she really said it but still it helped a little."  
"You were a child, why would you blame yourself?"  
She shifted again and looked up at him, "Well even then I had a fascination with the strange and mysterious shemlen in the towns we travelled near to. I used to try and get as close as I can to see what I could of them, I always worried that maybe one or more of them had spotted me and maybe that helped bring on the attack. Still it is not all bad, that fascination eventually led me here."  
He squeezed her close once more. "That was not your fault. And I am very sorry for what my people have done to yours."  
"And you tease me about taking on guilt that I do not need to. Unless you were out setting fires to aravals in the Free Marches twenty some years ago it was hardly your fault." She tilted her head up and looked skeptically at him for a moment, "You weren't were you?"  
"Hmmm twenty some years ago? Nope still in Fereldan just starting my training."  
"In that case then there is nothing to forgive vhenan."


End file.
